Prettiest Towns in United States

These beautiful towns are not only thriving economically, they’ve also got all you could want in a place to raise a family: plenty of g...

These beautiful towns are not only thriving economically, they’ve
also got all you could want in a place to raise a family: plenty of
green space, good schools, and a strong sense of community.

10. Edgartown, Massachusetts

Edgartown is a town located on Martha’s Vineyard in Dukes County,
Massachusetts, United States. It is the county seat of Dukes County.
Widely known as an exclusive enclave for the affluent and famous, the
island is at its most charming in Edgartown, the largest and most
expensive community on the Vineyard. Meticulously maintained Victorian
sea captains’ houses and a beguiling collection of shops and galleries
sit near the harbor. “Stroll about its manicured streets with some
home-made ice cream from Mad Martha’s (a local institution since 1971)
and you’ve got the makings of a perfect day,” says Arabella Bowen,
executive editorial director at Fodor’s.

9. Key West, Florida

Closer to Cuba than it is to the mainland United States, Key West exudes
a laid-back and casual vibe that is different than almost any other
town in the country. It’s a place that marches to its own (usually
steel) drummer. Take the kids dolphin-spotting, charter a boat to snag a
marlin, or just relax on the beach beside crystal blue waters. And
getting there is half the fun: the 127-mile Overseas Highway is the only
road in or out to the mainland, and there’s no road in the country like
it. If that’s not enough, Key West is also home to the only National
Park that is accessible only by boat, Dry Tortugas National Park, where
the snorkeling, diving, or just exploring are unparalleled.

8. Longview, Washington

Not even the port industry that clusters around the Lewis and Clark
bridge can block the scenery of one of the Pacific Northwest’s most
charming towns. “It is one of the only, if not the only planned
community in the west at the time,” says Foster Church of “Discovering
Main Street: Travel Adventures in Small Towns of the Northwest. “It was
planned by a wealthy lumber magnate who decided to build two lumber
mills in this location because it was close to the Columbia River.” He
needed 14,000 workers to help run his two mills, so in 1921, he built a
city that could house up to 50,000 people. Today, the town retains its
old town lumber mill feel, and is home to the well-planned but serene
beauty of Lake Sacajawea Park, which Foster says is “one of the most
beautiful parks I’ve ever seen.”

7. Athens, Georgia

A university town that enjoyed a small measure of renown in the ‘80s and
‘90s, thanks to a fertile music scene which gave birth to the B-52s and
R.E.M., among others. Athens is earning a more recent reputation as a
post-industrial success story. Old factories have been rehabilitated and
now house galleries and boutiques, but though the manufacturing may
have left, the town still holds onto its identity with pride. “It has
kept ruthless development at a minimum,” says Jason Cochran,
editor-in-chief of Frommer’s.com. “You can still find avenues of those
stately old Georgia mansions that the best towns retain. So you’ve got
this vibrant blend of slouching red-brick warehouses and bold Greek
Revival mansions.”

6. Tarrytown, New York

Tarrytown’s rich history, including being a throughway on the
Underground Railroad, name-dropped by Washington Irving in “The Legend
of Sleepy Hollow,” and, later, one of the preferred Upstate getaways for
New York’s rich and powerful, is visible wherever you go in this Hudson
River-side town. Lyndhurst, the widely-regarded robber baron Jay
Gould’s castle-like mansion in town, is toured by throngs of visitors
every year. The town has played host to recreational and cultural
options aplenty, including the famous (and former, running from 1971 to
2006) Tarrytown Film Festival, which was more of a film salon hosted by
noted ‘70s and ‘80s film critic, Judith Crist.

5. Fort Benton, Montana

Fort Benton is a city in and the county seat of Chouteau County,
Montana, United States. A portion of the city was designated as a
National Historic Landmark District in 1961. Established in 1846, a full
generation before the U.S. Civil War, Fort Benton is one of the oldest
settlements in the American West. Founded as a fur-trading post in 1847,
the town flourished well into the 1860s, when the Gold Rush cash was
flowing back eastward. The railroad would eventually put the brakes on
the town’s growth, however, but not before Fort Benton earned a
reputation as the sort of place where disagreements were regularly
settled with sidearms. “Jesse James and all the other characters used to
have shoot-outs on these streets and you can relive it all on Main
Street today,” says Andrew Evans, National Geographic Traveler’s Digital
Nomad.

4. Breckenridge, Colorado

In a state known for its charming alpine ski towns, Breckenridge stands
out both for its stunning vistas, charming streets, family-friendly vibe
and – most importantly, for many visitors – unsurpassed proximity to a
wide variety of world-class ski options. With giant peaks, more than 150
trails, North America’s highest chairlift, and a wide variety of
options for everyone from the shakiest of beginners to the most jaded
back-country daredevils, Breck really does have something for everyone.
Though the town really comes to life from November through early April,
there’s still a lot to do during the warmer months, from hiking to
fishing to mountain biking.

3. Gatlinburg, Tennessee

With its charming, quaint old buildings in the centre of town, its
dramatic mountain backdrop and the only ski resort in Tennessee,
Gatlinburg has become a popular tourist destination for regional
fun-seekers. Located on the border of the Great Smoky Mountains National
Park, Gatlinburg benefits from its location as a tourist draw and
reinforces it with attractions such as an aerial tramway, an aquarium,
white-water rafting, hiking, and even a haunted house. But let’s not kid
ourselves: as pretty and irresistible the town is, the real draw in
this part of Tennessee is the nature. “The wildflowers around Gatlinburg
and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are absolutely spectacular
in the spring as they burst with wild-flowers at their peak,” says Zain
Habboo, National Geographic’s director of travel.

2. Camden, Maine

Camden is a famous summer colony in the Mid-Coast region of Maine.
Similar to Bar Harbor, Nantucket and North Haven, Camden is well known
for its summer community of wealthy Northeasterners, mostly from Boston,
New York and Philadelphia. “It’s like a movie set. In fact, it has
often been a movie set.” Camden retains a certain salty grit and allows
more of its working-class roots to show — though, like many New England
seaside villages, the residents are more likely to be affluent these
days. “Where the mountains meet the sea,” boasts the town, and indeed
one of the best ways to see Camden is from a perch high above the harbor
on nearby Mt. Battie. The white sailboats pepper the water in Penobscot
Bay, and the waterside seafood beckons. Visit during September’s peak
leaf season for an autumnal fireworks display of reds, oranges, yellows,
and purples.

1. Newport, Rhode Island

Known for being the city of some of the “Summer White Houses”. Like a
town stuck in time but with the occasional hole in the space-time
continuum to allow for modern touches, Newport, with its stunning harbor
and bevy of old homes, is the quintessential New England town.
Newport’s fame began as a 19th century summertime visitors’ magnet of a
town, and it still reliably draws in clusters of visitors, both for the
daytime shopping, eating, and sightseeing options. At night, one of the
town’s many music festivals or varied collection of bars draws in local
students and stalwart party goers for good times that can run late and
loud. But the town itself is chief among American small towns in the
category of most well-preserved colonial homes and Gilded-Age mansions –
a testimony to its tony residential reputation, and to its history as
the summer destination of choice from 1953 until around 1963. It is also
the location of an important collection of naval training centres.